Coren's Story Survivor's Saga
by Willow Wind Song
Summary: Coren Silmon had always dreamed of having Pokemon, but he wasn't old enough. Then one day he found an injured farfetch'd on the side of the road...
1. Default Chapter

Coren's Story- Survivor's Saga

Author's note: I know this is not the highest quality story that I can write, but it's one of my older ones and I'm too energy conservative (lazy) to completely rewrite it. I've revised it and I hope it's a relatively good story. The later sagas should be better.

Chapter 1: _The Beginning_

The year is 1955

__

Coren Silmon is an eight-year old boy with brown hair and brown eyes. One day as he was walking home from school, he spotted a strange bundle on the side of the road. _What the? _He thought. As he got nearer he realized what it was. _It's a Pokemon! It looks pretty injured. _He thought worriedly.

Coren slowly walked up to the Pokemon. "Hey there little fellah." he said quietly. The Pokemon stirred. It lifted its head slightly off the ground to look at Coren. _Oh wow! It's a farfetch'd. They're pretty rare._ Thought Coren, recognizing the species of Pokemon from the book on bird-type Pokemon that he had been studying for school. _I wonder how badly injured it is?_

Coren put his book bag gently on the ground and knelt beside the farfetch'd. "Easy now, I won't hurt you," he said in a soothing voice. He studied the farfetch'd. He couldn't see any cuts or scrapes, but it's left wing, which he was lying on, had its tip sticking out at an odd angle. _It must of broken its wing._ He thought in concern. _And who knows what other sort of injuries it might have._

Darn it all! He thought, _If only I hadn't just returned that first-aid book to the library yesterday! I guess I'll just have to try to remember what it said. It said to tie the Pokemon's mouth shut, if it had a mouth. Well this guy does sort of have a mouth; he's got a beak anyway. But I don't have any thing to tie it shut with. I guess I'll just have to hope that he doesn't try to bite me._

"Easy fellah, I'm just trying to help you." he murmured, as he reached out to touch the farfetch'd. He was just sliding his hands underneath it when he remembered something. _Wait! If someone has a broken bone your not supposed to move them, unless it's unavoidable. Your supposed to get them professional help._

Poke-Center, Poke-Center, I need to find a Poke-Center. Let's see... Coren looked around. _If I remember correctly, than there is a Poke-Center next to the Poke-Mart which is only a few buildings away from the school._

After carefully sliding his hands out from underneath the farfetch'd, Coren carefully climbed to his feet and backed away. As soon as he was a yard away, Coren turned and took off at a run towards the school.

Once at the school, Coren took a right. He passed two buildings, plus the Poke-Mart, and found himself in front of the Poke-Center. He burst through the doors. "Hey!" He tried to shout but it came out as a gasp. He then collapsed onto a bench by the door, gulping in air, trying to catch his breath. "What?!" exclaimed one of the nurses. She came hurrying over to Coren. "What's the matter? Did something happen to your Pokemon?" she asked Coren.

"Not- my- Pokemon-, Don't have- any." he managed to pant out. 

"Than what happened?" she questioned.

Coren had his breath back now, "There's a farfetch'd on the side of the road, on the same street as my house. Please! You've got to help me! He's badly injured. I can't save him on my own. I think his wing is broke!"

"Calm down kid, I'll help you! Lucky!" the nurse said, turning to a nearby chansey, "Return to your Poke-ball, I'll bring you out when we get there!" Lucky returned to her Poke-ball. The nurse grabbed a bag that said `Emergency Kit' on it. "All right kid, lead the way!"

Coren jumped up from the bench and sprinted towards the door.

When they reached the farfetch'd Coren skidded to a halt, a yard away, so that he wouldn't scare it.

The nurse stopped beside Coren. She pulled a Poke-ball out of her pocket and pressed a button on it, releasing Lucky. "Lucky, go tell him that we're here to help him."

"Him?" said Coren, "How can you tell that it's a `him'"

"Well sometimes it can be pretty hard to tell, but one of my many gadgets can tell me."

"Oh" said Coren. He watched as Lucky said something to the farfetch'd in Pokemon language, and then looked at the nurse and nodded.

The nurse went quietly over to the farfetch'd. She pulled a folded white roll out of the bag. When she unfolded it Coren realized that it was a stretcher. The nurse carefully and slowly lifted the farfetch'd onto the stretcher, turning him as she did so. She looked at the broken wing and inhaled sharply.

"This is far worse than a broken wing, which is bad enough, he has a bullet wound in his side." said the nurse.

"A bullet wound! You mean he was shot!" exclaimed Coren. The nurse nodded grimly.

"But... But aren't Farfetch'd an endangered species?" asked Coren.

"Mm-Hmm, an as an endangered species it's against the law to kill, or shoot, one. That means that the person who shot it was doing so against the law. But we'll let the police handle that, right now it's are job to save this poor Pokemon." The nurse said while pressing a cotton pad on the bullet wound. "Okay, let's get this guy back to the Poke-Center where he can get proper care. Grab the other end of this stretcher, will you?" Coren picked up the end of the stretcher opposite the nurse. "Thanks. Lucky could you please grab the bag? Thank you." she said, as they started back towards the Poke-Center.

They got to the Poke-Center and went inside. The nurse that had gone with Coren called out to the nurse behind the counter "Lily, please go get the emergency medical crew. We have a very badly injured Pokemon here." Lily nodded and left the room through a side door.

Within a minute Lily was back and she had brought another person with her.

"Lily told me that there was an emergency medical case here." Said the lady that had come in with Lily. "Is that the injured Pokemon?"

"Yes. This boy found the poor thing on the side of the road. It looks like it was a broken wing and a bullet hole in its side," said the nurse still holding her end of the stretcher.

"Alright then, let's get that Pokemon to the emergency room. Excuse me boy, but I'll take that end of the stretcher. What's your name?" asked the nurse who had come with Lily.

"Coren" said Coren.

"Well my name is Nurse Joy and I promise you that we'll do all that we can to save the Farfetch'd." said Nurse Joy as she helped the other nurse to carry the stretcher into another room.

Lily walked back behind the counter, and sat down on a chair. She reached into one of her pant's pocket's and pulled out a hair elastic; she then tied her light purple hair in a pony-tail. "So your name's Coren, right?" she asked. Coren nodded. "My name is Lily, but you probably already figured that out. If you need to call your parents or anybody else who should know where you are, than you're welcome to use our telephone." said Lily, gesturing to the phone on the desk.

"Thanks." said Coren walking over to the desk. He picked up the phone and dialed his families phone number. He could here the phone ring three times and then picked up.

"Hello?" said a voice that Coren recognized as his mother's.

"Hi mom," said Coren. "I'm at the Poke-Center right now. I found an injured Farfetch'd on the side of the road, and I went to get help for it. The doctors are treating it right now. It looked like the Pokemon had a broken wing and a bullet hole in its side!"

"Oh dear!" exclaimed Coren's mom. "Well I'm sorry to hear about what happened to the Pokemon. Do you want me to come over to the Poke-Center?"

"Yes!" said Coren, his voice trembling. "So you'll come?"

"Yes dear, I'll be there as soon a I finish with this bill. Okay?" said Coren's mom.

"Yeah, okay." replied Coren.

"Okay then, I'll see you soon. By honey."

"By mom." said Coren hanging up the phone. 

"So is your mom coming here?" asked Lily, in a kind voice.

"Yes." said Coren nodding and looking considerably more cheerful then he had a few minutes ago.

"So if your name's Lily and the nurse you went to get is called Nurse Joy than what's the other one's name, the lady who came with me to get the Farfetch'd?" asked Coren.

"That's Emily. She works here full time. I, on the other hand, work here part time. I'm not interested in working here fulltime. I want to breed, train and compete with Pokemon," said Lily.

"Then how come you work here at all?" asked Coren.

"Well, there's two, no make that three main reasons. One of them being that I need to make money some-how and until I start winning at the big competitions I won't really have an income from working with my Pokemon. The second reason is that I want to learn what I can about taking care of Pokemon medically so that if I need to take care of an injured Pokemon I can do so correctly. And the third reason is simply that I like to help Pokemon."

"What type of Pokemon do you want to breed?" asked Coren.

"I'm not really sure," said Lily, "I want to breed Ponyta, but I also think it would be nice to breed eevees. Oh! And Vulpixes are so utterly adorable! And I like Houndour. And Growlithes are nice too! Oh, I don't know! All Pokemon have their good points and bad points. I just want to live with Pokemon and I'll just have to wait and see what type of Pokemon I should breed. I'm hoping that I'll know when the time comes."

"So do you have any Pokemon?" questioned Coren.

"Oh yes, I have three Pokemon. An Umbreon, a Ponyta, and a Houndour." answered Lily.

"I've heard of Ponyta, but what are Umbreon and Houndour like?" said Coren.

"Well it would be easier to show you so..." said Lily, taking a Poke-ball off of her belt. She stood up and walked to Coren's side of the desk. She then raised her arm and pressed the release button on the Poke-ball. A beam of light came out of the ball and a Pokemon materialized. An Umbreon stood there. A brilliant sparkling light surrounded it for a moment, then faded. It was black with silver highlights on it's face, ears, tail, legs, and feet. It had red eyes and golden ring markings on it.

"This is Moon Mist. She's an Umbreon," said Lily.

"How come it glowed?" asked Coren.

"She glowed because she is an unusually colored Pokemon and, for some reason that I do not know, unusually colored Pokemon sparkle or glow." Lily explained.

"How is Moon Mist unusually colored?" asked Coren.

"Most Umbreon are black, but they don't have silver high-lights like Moon Mist." explained Lily.

Lily stroked Moon Mist's head and then took another Poke-ball from her belt. She pressed the release button and another beam of light appeared. A Houndour appeared and immediately jumped on Coren, knocking him over. 

"Hey!" shouted a startled Coren.

"Champion!" exclaimed Lily, "Get off of him!" But Champion ignored her, and started licking Coren's face.

"At least he likes me," said Coren as Lily pulled Champion off of Coren.

"Really. Well this is a Houndour," said Lily gesturing to Champion, who immediately started licking her hand. "Supposedly Houndour aren't friendly, but it seems to me that, that's just because they've gotten a reputation as good guard dogs. I haven't really met any-other Houndour, but from what I've heard from those who have them, is that most Houndour are friendly. It's just that some people have trained and bred Houndour to be vicious."

Lily now took a third Poke-ball from her belt. "You guys had probably better back up. Wind Racer takes up a good amount of room." she warned. Coren, Champion and Moon Mist all moved a few yards away from Lily.

Lily pressed the release button. A beam of light appeared for a third time. A Ponyta erupted out of the beam. He let out a shrill, challenging neigh, and leapt into the air, kicking out with his hind legs.

"Whoa Wind! Easy there." said Lily. "Coren this is Wind Racer, Wind Racer meet Coren." Wind Racer looked at Coren and inhaled, breathing in his scent.

"Wow," said Coren, sighing, "I wish I could have a Pokemon."

"Why can't you? Too Young?" asked Lily.

"Yep." Coren nodded. "I'm too young, my mom's too busy, my dad's not interested in Pokemon and even if he was he'd be too busy to have any, anyway. My dad runs a business that builds buildings, and my mom works at the Poke-mart."

"Oh, well that's too bad. I was lucky enough that my family has Pokemon. But you must at least be able to study Pokemon, right?" inquired Lily.

"Yeah, actually I got a new book from the library today. It's called How to be a Pokemon's Best Friend. It looks like a really cool book. I've only read the first chapter, so far. 

"Oh No! My back pack! I left my backpack by the road! I've gotta go get it! I'll be right back!" Coren said the last part as he ran out the door. Champion barked and ran out the open door, following Coren down the street.

"Champion! Hey! Oh no! This is just great! I can't leave right now," said Lily, looking around. She opened the door. "Wind Racer could you please follow Champion and make sure he stays out of trouble?" Wind Racer nickered and bobbed his head. He then ran out the door and down the street. "Thanks!" Lily called after him.

Coren raced towards the place where he had left his backpack. Champion was running along with him, which Coren thought was kind off neat. He was a little worried that something might happen, but Champion stayed beside him, running on Coren's left side.

Just then Coren heard a pounding of hooves. He slowed slightly and turned his head to the right, about to look over his shoulder. But he didn't need to look over his shoulder for when he turned his head; Wind Racer was running along next to him.

"Wow, you're fast!" Coren exclaimed. Wind Racer snorted, nodding his head in agreement.

Coren reached the area where the Farfetch'd had been, completely out off breath. He grabbed his backpack and stood there for a moment, panting. Champion and Wind Racer however didn't seem to be winded at all.

Looking at the ground in front of him, Coren realized that there were bloodstains and a feather on the spot on the ground where the Farfetch'd had been. Coren gave a quiet sort of moan. Champion nuzzled his hand.

"Hi Champion." Coren said quietly. He bent down and picked up the feather. Coren sighed and looked up the road, towards his house. 

"Hey! Mom knows a quicker way to the Poke-Center than going all the way to the school first! Why, she might even already be there. And what if there's been a change in Farfetch'd. I've gotta get back there quick! But I'm so tired from all this running." said Coren, turning around and looking in the direction that they had come.

Suddenly Wind Racer neighed. Startled, Coren turned and saw Wind Racer rearing, and tossing his head. As soon as Wind Racer's front feet touched the ground, he kicked out with his hind feet. Wind Racer, head high, then pranced towards Coren. When Wind Racer was about a foot away, Coren took a step backwards, bumping into Champion. Wind Racer then turned, so that Coren was facing his side. Wind Racer bent his front legs and jerked his muzzle towards his back.

"Y-you want me to get on your back?" asked Coren, incredulously. Wind Racer nodded. Coren put on his backpack and carefully climbed on. Coren settled himself with his hands on Wind Racer's neck to keep himself balanced. Wind Racer had, by that time, gotten to his feet. He then sprang forwards so fast that Coren nearly fell off backwards, and had to throw his arms around Wind Racer's neck in order to stay on.

As Wind Racer ran towards the Poke-Center, Champion ran along side and barked joyfully.

When they got to the Poke-Center Coren's mom and Lily rushed out.

"Coren!" called his mom, but when she saw him on Wind Racer she stopped short, her mouth dropping open in surprise. Lily was also surprised, and she too, stopped and stared.

Wind Racer came to a stop in front of Coren's mom and Lily. Coren, who still had his arms and legs clasped tightly around Wind Racer, slowly and cautiously sat up. Wind Racer neighed, shaking his head, and stomped with his right, front hoof.

"Whoa. Easy, Wind Racer." soothed Lily, going to Wind Racer's head and stroking his face.

Coren carefully slid his leg over Wind racer's back, and using his hands on Wind Racer to steady himself; he slid off. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Coren's legs gave way. His knees hit the ground and might have been followed by his body as well, but Champion thrust himself in front of Coren who grabbed onto him.

"COREN!" shouted his mother, who came over to him and helped him to his feet.

"Are you alright?! What on earth were you doing riding that thing!?" said Coren's very concerned mother.

"I'm alright mom, really.

"I didn't realize that Ponyta could run that fast, or that it would be so hard to stay on," said Coren.

"Really." agreed Lily, "I once thought that myself, but then I started taking riding lessons at Fire Wind Ranch. I learned very quickly that it wasn't as easy as I had thought it would be. But why were you riding Wind Racer in the first place?" asked Lily.

"Well, I realized that mom might already be hear and that I needed to get back as quickly as possible. I was talking out loud and I guess that Wind Racer understood what I was saying, because he walked in front of me and sort of kneeled on front legs.

Then he thrust his nose at his back and when I asked him if he wanted me to get on him he nodded. I hope your not mad, I didn't mean to do anything wrong." Coren said.

"You mischievous thing you." Lily said to Wind Racer, affectionately swatting his neck. "You just can't resist a chance to show off, can you?" Wind Racer responded by shaking his head, sending his fiery mane fluttering.

Lily turned to Coren. "Coren, I'm not mad at you. I just hope that your parents aren't mad."

Coren's eyes widened and he turned quickly to his mother. "**Are** you mad?" he asked his mother.

Coren's mom opened and closed her mouth twice, finally she said "Not really. I might have been if I hadn't been so shocked to see you on it, but now that I've thought about it I'm not. I do want you to be careful around strange Pokemon, but that's because I care for you and don't want you to get hurt. It's not because I don't want you to have any fun. But in any-case let's go see how that Farfetch'd is doing."

"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Coren in alarm, and he sprinted inside. Coren's mother, Lily and her Pokemon followed Coren inside.

Lily went through a side door in the room to check on the Farfetch'd status, while Coren and his mom waited. Coren patted Champion while he told his mom about what had happened. Lily came back just as Coren finished his tale.

"They're still working on him, it'll be a little while before we know how he'll recover." Lily told them.

Coren decided to read his book while he waited. He opened How to be a Pokemon's Best Friend to chapter two "Communication".

An hour later Emily came back to the room where Coren and the others where waiting. "It looks like the Farfetch'd is going to make a full recovery" she said, smiling hopefully. "The only problem is that he's suffering from shock. As long as he comes out of it he should be okay."

"Can I see him?" asked Coren.

Emily nodded, "I don't see why not. Follow me." She turned around and led the way through the rooms to where the Farfetch'd was. Coren, his mom, and Lily all followed. (Lily had her Pokemon return to their balls first.) The Farfetch'd was nestled in a nest of blankets, in a big cage.

"Oh my goodness, The poor thing." said Coren's mom, seeing the Farfetch'd's wing and part of his body covered in bandages.

"Can I pat him?" asked Coren.

Emily said "It should be okay, but go carefully, remember he's a wild Pokemon, and he's in shock." Coren slowly walked to the cage and opened it. He slowly reached his hand towards the Farfetch'd's right (his uninjured) side. Coren gently stroked him.

"Hello little guy, I really want you to get better." Coren said softly. He slowly climbed into the cage and sat down next to the Farfetch'd. Coren continued to talk softly and soothingly to the Pokemon.

The Farfetch'd slowly looked towards Coren. He then shifted his position, nestling closer to Coren. Emily's mouth dropped open. She closed her mouth and turning to the other adults there, she put a finger up to her lips, motioning them to be quiet. Emily then motioned them to follow her out of the room.

"That Farfetch'd was in shock but the boy's attention seems to be bringing him out of it. I'll have to talk to Nurse Joy, but I almost think that it would be best if the kid took care of the Farfetch'd.

Now who are you?" Emily asked Coren's mother.

"I'm Mina Silmon, Coren's mother." replied Mina.

"Coren? That must be the kid's name?" asked Emily. Mina nodded. "In that case, what do you think of the idea of helping the kid, I mean Coren, take care of the Farfetch'd?"

"I'd be willing to help, and I can handle Coren's father." said Mina, "You see my husband isn't interested in Pokemon, but he does care about life and once he sees the Farfetch'd he'll be just as determined to save it as the rest of us, if not more."

"Alright then, I just need to clear it with Nurse Joy." said Emily. "Lily if you stay at the counter for a little while longer, I can relieve you after I speak with Nurse Joy." Emily told Lily who nodded in response and went down the hall.

"Mina, is it?" asked Emily. Mina nodded. "Mina if you could stay with Coren and the Farfetch'd while I talk to Nurse Joy then that would probably be best," said Emily.

Mina nodded and said, "Of course." Emily then went to talk to Nurse Joy, while Mina quietly slipped back into the room with Coren and the Farfetch'd.

The Farfetch'd was still nestled quietly by Coren's side. Coren was so involved in the Farfetch'd, that he barely noticed as his mother sat down on a chair near the cage.

Nurse Joy entered the room and motioned for Mina to come with her into the hall.

"Emily says that the Farfetch'd has taken a liking to Coren, and I can see that. She also said that you are willing to take care of the Farfetch'd?" Nurse Joy asked.

Mina nodded. "Yes I am willing to take responsibility for the Pokemon, and I believe that Coren would be willing to help me. Pokemon have always fascinated Coren. I know he would take the best care possible of a Pokemon in his charge. He is a very responsible boy."

Nurse Joy smiled. _Well some of that may just be motherly pride, but I think that they're trust-worthy._ "In that case, let's go and see what Coren thinks of this." she said.

Nurse Joy opened the door, and walked over to Coren and the Farfetch'd. "Coren do want to help your mom take care of Farfetch'd?" she asked.

"Do I!?! Of course I do! But can we actually take care of him? I mean aren't you supposed to?" said Coren.

"Well we've done most of what we can for the Pokemon." replied Nurse Joy. "His bandages will need to be changed, he'll need to be fed and all of the basics, but you and your mother can do most of that stuff yourselves. The only thing is that I would want one of the people who've been trained in Pokemon medical care to check on him every few days.

I think that the Farfetch'd likes you and Pokemon often heal faster and better when they are with some-one who they trust and/or like. I'll make a list of what needs to be done for his care. We can bring him to your house as soon as you've gotten a place set up for the Farfetch'd."

"Wow! Really?" asked Coren. Nurse Joy smiled and nodded her head. "Mmm-hm"

"Mom," said Coren "Can we take care of him? Is it alright with you?"

"Yes," Mina said, "I don't expect your father to like it much, but he'll let us. 

"However I don't think that we can keep him. Even if your father didn't mind, we're just to busy to give him the proper attention and care that he deserves on a regular basis."

Coren nodded and said, "I didn't think that we'd be able to keep him permanently. And besides he's a wild Pokemon, he belongs in the wild. He's also an endangered species; he needs to be in the wild to help strengthen their population. My only concern is where we're going to release him. I guess he's lived around here, but it doesn't seem very safe anymore."

"Well," said Nurse Joy, "There's a well known wild Pokemon preserve in Kanto, but I don't know where exactly it is. Lily would probably know more because she's donated money to them. You could ask her about it."

"Yeah, I'll ask her," said Coren.

That night Mina explained the situation to Ben, Coren's father. He was reluctant about taking the Farfetch'd home, but he agreed to help. 

The next day Ben built a cage for the Farfetch'd. Mina and Coren went to the Poke-Center to bring the Farfetch'd home.

Coren and Mina walked through the Poke-Center door. Emily was sitting behind the counter and Lily was sitting on a bench by the wall, brushing Moon Mist. Lily stood up and returned Moon Mist to her Poke-ball.

"Ready to bring the Farfetch'd home?" asked Lily, smiling at Coren.

"Yep! My dad actually built him a cage!" said Coren.

Lily, Mina and Coren brought the Farfetch'd to Coren's house and they put him in his new cage. The Farfetch'd started exploring the ground level part of his cage.

The next morning Ben went into the living room, where the Farfetch'd was stayed during the night. No one else was up yet. "How are ya feel'n little guy?" He asked the Pokemon. The Farfetch'd hopped over to the side of the cage where Ben was standing. He made a noise that sounded kind of like a Quack.

"I know, you're wondering what I'm doing here huh? I'm not really sure, I just woke up early and the thought came to me to visit you." Ben told the Farfetch'd who seemed to be listening intently to him. Ben continued, "You seem like quite an intelligent Pokemon. And you're quite the survivor huh? Surviving a gun-shot and a broken wing." The Farfetch'd let out a series of quacks, and flapped his unbroken wing.

"What is it little guy?" asked Ben. "Hmm... Even if you do return to the wild you could use a name..." The Farfetch'd turned to get a drink of water, and Ben could clearly see his cast and bandages. That brought an idea to him. _Survivor!_ "Hey! How about Survivor?" he asked the Farfetch'd. Survivor quacked, bobbing his head and flapped his right wing. Ben chuckled, "Survivor it is then."


	2. Almost Summer

Coren's Story Survivor's Saga

*Author's note: Thank you, heath999, for taking the time to read and review my story. I greatly appreciate it. *

Chapter 2: _Almost Summer_

Coren was sitting on a bench outside of school, waiting for the bell to ring, signifying the start of the school day. After a couple of minutes he noticed a long, blonde, haired girl staring at him.

"What?"

The girl strolled over; "You sure get deep in thought, don't you?"

"Aleena, if you wanted to say something, then why didn't you?"

"Oh, I was just wanted to see how long it would take for someone to notice if they're being stared at."

Coren shook his head. "Hey, Aleena, guess what."

"What?"

"I'm taking care of a Pokemon!"

"Really!?"

"Yeah, I found him by the side of the road. He was injured and when I brought him to the Poke-center they said that my family should take care of him until he heals."

"Oh cool! Well, not that he's injured, but you finally get a chance to take care of a Pokemon!"

"I know! It's really cool."

"Okay, as soon as school ends, I'm coming over to see him."

"Okay."

The School bell clanged.

"Oh drats!" said Aleena. "I was hoping to talk more! Well, I'll see you in class."

During math class Aleena slipped a note to Coren. _What kind of Pokemon is it?_

Coren scrawled an answer and passed it back. _Farfetch'd_

Aleena read it, then wrote something else and passed it to Coren again.

Does it have a name yet? And is it a he or a she? 

Coren wrote back. _His name is Survivor. I don't think we should pass notes right now. We're supposed to be learning math, and I, for one, don't want to get caught._

Aleena wrote something on the note and then passed it back to Coren._ Spoil sport._

When the school day finally ended Coren and Aleena walked over to Coren's house. There was a cage on the lawn, but there was no Pokemon to be seen.

"So where is this Survivor?"

"He's probably inside. I don't think my parents are home yet, and we don't want to leave him outside without any supervision." Coren picked up the stone Pikachu that was by the front door, took a key out from it and unlocked the front door. He replaced the key and they went inside.

Something honked loudly, causing both Coren and Aleena to jump.

"Survivor!" exclaimed Coren, as he jogged over to the indoor cage. Survivor started excitedly flapping his uninjured wing.

"So you're the special Pokemon that I've heard about." Crooned Aleena, as she crouched down by the cage. Survivor paused and stared at her.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you." Aleena said softly. Survivor tilted his head.

Coren dropped his book bag on the couch and then opened up the cage.

"Come on out, Survivor. Aleena's our friend." He held out his hand and Survivor waddled over to him. Coren picked him up, carried him over to the couch and sat down, placing Survivor on his lap.

"Wow. He's pretty tame for a wild Pokemon."

"I know. He's okay with mom and Dad, but I seem to be the only one who he's this friendly with."

"Can I try and pat him? I'll go slow, I don't want to scare him."

"I don't know if he'll let you, but you can try."

Aleena slowly walked over and reached out her hand. Survivor ducked away.

"Hey there Survivor. I want to be your friend too."

Survivor watched her alertly. Aleena slowly stroked his head feathers.

"So what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I guess we could take him out side."

"Is it alright to do that without your parents home?"

"Oh. Well he listens to me better than he does to them, but they'd probably prefer that we wait."

Aleena thought for a moment. "Hey, I have an idea! Have you ever made Pokemon treats before?"

"Uh, no. But I don't think mom would want me using the oven before she got home."

"Well there are some recipes that you need to bake, but there are ones that don't need to be cooked, as well."

"I suppose that might work"

"Yeah, let's do it." Aleena strode into the kitchen.

"Okay Survivor, I need to get up now." Coren gently lifted Survivor off of his lap and placed him on the couch. Coren then followed Aleena to the kitchen.

Aleena was already taking out ingredients, she looked over at him, "I hope you don't mind that I'm using your family's food."

"No."

"What about you're parents, do you think they'll mind?"

"I don't think they will, as long as we clean up the mess."

"Good. Do you want to make Fruit Burst treats or Star Blast?"

"Uh… Star Blast, I guess."

When they had finished making the Star Blast treats they looked around the kitchen. There was a sink full of dirty dishes, and several ingredients had spilled on the floor.

"Well, I guess it's time to clean up now. Coren, you sweep the floor wipe the counters. I'll put wash the dishes and put away the last of the ingredients."

Just as they were finishing, Survivor walked in.

"Oh look. Now we can see if he likes them!" Aleena took a StarBurst treat off the table and offered it to Survivor. He looked at it cautiously. He took a small bite out of it, crunched and swallowed. He quaked and quickly snapped up the rest of the treat. He then stared at Aleena with big shining eyes.

"Yep, he likes them. Hey Coren, have you tried any yet?"

"No," said Coren, "I've never tasted Pokemon food."

"Well you ought to try these. They're good enough for humans to eat. Of course, if they weren't I don't know how many Pokemon would be willing to eat them. Although I suppose that some Pokemon would eat just about anything." Aleena grabbed another treat and took a bite out of it.

"Mmmm…" She sighed in contentment.

Survivor made a pitiful noise. Aleena looked him. He was sitting on her foot, trying to make himself as tall as possible. He was staring at the treat in her hand.

Aleena laughed, "Oh all right, they are for you, after all." She handed the rest of the treat to Survivor, who eagerly gobbled it down.

"Come on Coren, you should try it!"

"No thanks. Besides, like you said, they're for Survivor," said Coren handing another treat to Survivor.

Aleena put her hands on her hips, "You're just afraid of trying it!"

"No I'm not!"

Aleena grinned, "yes you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Oh yeah? Prove it!"

"I don't need to prove anything. I'm not afraid to eat it, I just don't want to."

"Yes you are."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"No, you're not."

"No."

"So you're not afraid?"

"Yes!"

"Yes, you are, or yes you are not?"

Coren stared at her. He shook his head. "Never mind."

"Just try it, they're good."

Coren sighed, "All right, all right. I don't see what the point of it is, but I'll try one."

Coren picked up a treat and bite into it. As he started to chew his eyes went wide. He took another bite.

"Hey, these are good!" Coren said, through a mouth full.

"What happened to not talking with your mouth full?" Coren ignored her.

Suddenly Survivor made a lunging jump at Coren.

"Hey!" cried Coren, as Survivor grabbed onto the treat. Coren held on and Survivor just got a mouth full. Coren stuffed the rest into his mouth. Aleena watched as the two of them tried to chew the huge bites that they had taken.

"I think I'd better put these away before two certain people overeat them." Aleena put the treats into a container, which she put in the fridge. She turned around to find Coren and Survivor watching her very closely.

"No more." Said Aleena holding up her hands. Both Coren and Survivor sighed.

About an hour later Aleena looked at the clock.

"Six! Oh my gosh! I've got to go! My mom wants help cleaning! Well, good by Coren. See you at school."

"Yeah."

Aleena turned to Survivor. She held out her arms and he jumped in them. "And good by my feathery little friend. I hope I'll see you soon."

She hugged him and then put him down. He quacked excitedly.

Aleena opened the door, then turned to Coren, "I'll see tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, later."

Aleena gave a small wave, turned, and headed out the door.


	3. Worn Out Dreams

Chapter 3: _Worn Out Dreams_

*Author's note: Azariel, thank you for taking time to read and review my story for me. Also, thanks for the friendly conversations. *

"Amazing. There aren't any clouds in the sky." Said Aleena, gazing up at the clear blue sky.

"Yeah, it's a beautiful day."

"Look, Survivor thinks so to!" Survivor was hopping along the side of the road, exploring the ditch. Every so often he would stop and quack happily.

The Sun shone bright, and the trees glowed with life. A sweet scent floated on the breeze, while flowers seemed to be in bloom every where. They even passed a crystal clear stream, which Survivor paused to drink out of.

"Coren, I hear a car."

Coren whistled and Survivor came to him. Coren picked him up and carried him while the car passed.

They were now walking along side an old, decrepit looking fence. On the other side were small Poke-houses with holes in the sides and roofs. Some were empty, while others had skinny Pokemon chained to them. Coren stopped and stared at one, which had an eevee lying half submerged in the mud surrounding it.

At another poke-house was a meowth, drinking muddy water from a puddle, while nearby was a pool with only a couple buckets worth of murky water, in which a magikarp floated weakly.

They came to an area where the fence was completely broken down. They could now see an old fashioned house (for people). At each window were torn, dirty and shabby curtains. The window's themselves were dirty, smudged, and cracked. The walls were chipped and the shingles on the roof were peeling.

In front of the house was another Poke house. This one had a growlithe that looked half-starved tied to it. A black haired boy was kneeling next to it, feeding it something. 

"Hey! That's no condition to keep a Pokemon in!" exclaimed Coren.

The boy jumped and said in an urgent whisper, "Keep your voice down! This isn't my Pokemon."

"Then whose is it?" asked Coren. He looked around at the run down place.

"I'm not really sure. I just know that these Pokemon aren't getting enough food. I've been bringing them food for a week now."

Aleena climbed through the fence, and walked towards the growlithe and boy. "This is terrible. Why would some one keep them in this condition, is the owner cruel?"

"I don't know." Said the boy.

Coren also climbed through the fence and came over. As he looked around he noticed all sorts of Pokemon tied up and in cages. "So if you don't own them, than who are you?"

"My name's Darren. Like I said I've been feeding them. I couldn't bear to see them suffering like this. What happened to that Pokemon?" asked Darren, looking at Survivor.

"He was shot, and broke his wing." Said Coren.

"That's terrible! Who did it?"

"I don't know. I found him on the ground by the road."

"Does he have a name?"

"Survivor. But actually he's not my Pokemon. He's a wild Pokemon and my family's been taking care of him since he got injured."

"That's cool. What are your names?" He looked at Coren and Aleena.

"My name is Aleena Wood."

"I'm Coren Silmon."

Survivor wandered over to Shin Rock, the growlithe. Shin Rock cringed back and then let off a round of furious barking.

"Shush!" Darren cried urgently to Shin Rock, "please be quiet Shin!" Shin Rock quieted, sat and looked at him.

A door creaked open. Darren whipped around. "Quick! This way!" Darren grabbed his bag and sprinted towards the woods. Aleena followed him.

"Who's there! Stop! What are you doing to my Pokemon!" cried an old lady with curly white hair.

Coren scooped up Survivor. He started to follow Darren and Aleena, but paused, looking at the old lady. She half ran/half-hobbled over to Shin Rock.

"My poor baby! What did they do to you?!" she wrapped her arms around Shin Rock and rocked back and forth.

"Uh, excuse me, mam?" said Coren tentatively.

The lady jumped and spun around to face Coren, Shin Rock held tightly in her arms. He squirmed a little. "Now, now, don't let that nasty boy frighten you Shiny, I won't let him hurt you!"

"Mam, we weren't hurting him, and we don't want to. That boy was feeding him."

"Feeding! Were they trying to poison you? My poor baby."

"No! He was trying to help him. Can't you see that he's starving!"

"Starving! Now they want to try and starve you!" the old lady started sniffing, as a few tears started to trickle down her face.

Coren shook his head, "No, we don't. We want to help."

The lady looked at him suspiciously, "and I why should I believe filth like you! Trespassers and bullies!"

"Look at him!" said Coren; "Do you see any injuries!"

She examined Shin Rock as closely as she could without putting him down; "his ribs show. You have been starving him! Wretch! You won't get away with this! I'm calling the police!"

She started to put Shin Rock down, then changed her mind and unclipped the chain from his collar. She glared at Coren; "You're coming with me." She grabbed Coren's arm and pulled him towards her house.

"Hey! I'm not a crook!" exclaimed Coren trying to pull his arm away, but she had an amazingly strong grip for one who looked so feeble.

"Oh, that's what they all say! Oh they're not bad; they're just misunderstood. Liars! Scum! They have no respect for laws!"

Survivor jumped out of Coren's arms and started off after Aleena and Darren, though he was a lot slower than they were. "Survivor!" called Coren, as the lady dragged him into her house, one arm still protectively holding Shin Rock. She shoved Coren at a wooden chair, and set Shin Rock on a large cushioned rocking chair.

"Now you just wait right there my dear, I'll see to you in a minute." She crooned, as she walked to the phone. Coren assumed she was talking to Shin Rock. As the lady called the police, Coren looked around. It seemed to have the kitchen, dining, and living room all in one room. The couch was sagging and torn in spots. The table legs and chair seemed to have been used as scratching and chewing polls. The stove was stained. On the counter was a stack of dirty dishes, some of them chipped and cracked. The coffee table was slanted, held up by three legs and a stack of old, dusty books. A framed picture on it caught his attention. He walked over to examine it. The mahogany wooden frame was engraved with a flowering ivy design. It was smooth and worn down in some spots, as if from years of constant rubbing and handling. The glass covering was smudged with fingerprints. The picture showed a teenage girl with a radiant smile, holding a growlithe. Next to them was a teenage boy with a vulpix balanced on his shoulders. All four looked happy enough to be in heaven. They were standing in a crystal arch, with elegant rose vines growing on it. On the bottom of the frame was engraved 1863 The Arch of Love.

"Noticed our picture have you?" Coren jumped. The lady picked up the picture and gently gazed at it. She looked at Coren for a moment, a puzzled expression on her face. Her face cleared and she set the picture down. She then took Coren's hands in her own, "don't worry dear, you're parents will be home soon, I'm sure."

"Madam, who are those in the picture?"

"Now Tobias, I've told you before, there's no need to call me madam, I want you to call me Sarah."

"Uh…"

"You don't know who the people in the picture are? I could have sworn that I've told you before. Oh well." Sarah finally let go of Coren's hands. She pointed to the girl in the picture. "It may be hard to recognize this old bag of bones, but that girl is me. When I was much younger of course. And you know who the growlithe is. That's Shin Rock!"

Coren looked over at Shin Rock sitting on the chair. He looked back at the picture, "Is that the same Pokemon as the one on the chair?"

Sarah looked over at Shin Rock on the chair, "Oh don't be silly Toby, this picture was taken over fifty years ago! The Shin Rock on the chair is this Shin Rock's great, great, grand son. He's one of the finest Pokemon that Shawn and ever bred."

Coren wasn't sure which growlithe she was referring to. "Um, so, Sarah, who's the guy in the picture?"

"Why, Shawn of course! That was about two months after we met. It took they guy a whole year to get up the nerve to ask me."

"Ask you what?"

"Why, to marry him of course! I was so delighted when he finally asked." She gazed at the picture. "That vulpix he has there is Gemstone, she was a talented Pokemon. Of course, Shawn could have brought out the talent in anyone."

Coren wasn't sure it was a wise question to ask, but couldn't help himself, "Could have?"

Sarah looked at him sharply, alarm in her eyes. "Don't let him leave with your parents, don't let him! They'll never return! They're gone, all gone." Suddenly she burst into tears and collapsed to the floor, sobbing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." Said Coren. Sarah looked up at him, her eyes puffy and her face pink.

"Oh Toby, it's not your fault." She swept an alarmed Coren into her arms. She held him close, and cried into his shoulder.

An engine stopped outside and Coren could here voices. The door opened and in came a police officer. "My name is Jenny, please tell me what happened."

Coren noticed that Aleena, Survivor and Darren had followed Jenny in. Coren looked at Jenny, "I tried to tell her that we weren't trying to harm her Pokemon, but she didn't believe me. She dragged me in here and called the police, and now she's calling me Toby."

Sarah looked closely at him and shrieked, "Who are you!? How dare you pose as my grandson!" She shoved him away. Coren stumbled and fell backwards into the coffee table. The book stack supporting it fell, knocking the table edged to the floor. The picture fell onto the floor with a clack.

"Shin Rock!" cried Sarah, and she grabbed the picture. She held it protectively to her chest. Shin Rock leapt off of the chair and ran over to her.

"Alright Sarah, just calm down now." Said officer Jenny, "These Pokemon here are in terrible condition, and we've warned you before that you needed to improve the conditions, or we'd need to remove them. I'm sorry to have to take them away, but you obviously can't take care of them yourself anymore, so I'm going to have to."

"NO! You can't! They were Shawn's, I know he wouldn't want them going anywhere! I won't let you take them!"

"Now, now, I'm sure Shawn wouldn't have wanted them to suffer."

"They're not suffering! I take good care of them!" Sarah walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains, "See, they're all in fine condition."

Jenny looked out the window dubiously, "That doesn't really look like fine condition to me…"

Sarah looked out the window. She gasped, "It's terrible!" She turned on Darren and Coren. "It's all their fault! They've been feeding and doing things to them!"

"Frankly mam, feeding them probably saved those Pokemon's lives."

Sarah started crying again.

"Now don't worry Sarah, we'll make sure they go to good homes."

Sarah looked up, "Could I help?"

"Well, I suppose it's possible."

Sarah turned to Darren, "You boy, what's your name?"

"Darren Crowthrew." Shin Rock had wandered over to him.

"You've been feeding Shin, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"He seems to really trust you."

"I guess."

"Than I want you to have him. I know you'll take proper care of him."

"Really? You want me to have him! Oh, but I'm not old enough."

"Don't worry dear, as long as you're parents agree to helping you, I'm sure we can work something out." Said Officer Jenny. "Now Sarah, is there anyone else that you'd like to offer Pokemon to?"

"Well, there's my grandson, Damien."

"Isn't he the one who has special permission to work with Pokemon?"

"That's him," said Sarah, "He's going to be master trainer one day."

"Alright, I'm going to use your phone to call him, so that we can get these Pokemon into better conditions as soon as possible. I'll also call someone to come and go over your finances, alright?"

"I suppose I do need help…" 

Officer Jenny used the phone to make a couple of calls. "Alright people, I have to take some photos as evidence, and then let's get to work on cleaning up these Pokemon."

They were cleaning up the yard when a car pulled up. A long, black, haired woman got out of the drivers' side, and a boy with shoulder length, black, hair got out of the passenger side.

"So you're finally taking her Pokemon away?" asked the woman, looking around at the run down yard, "It's about time, wouldn't you say? This place is falling apart. Sarah obviously can't cope with the work involved in maintaining a place like this.

"Damien, you go look through the Pokemon on the off chance that any of them are worth anything."

"I doubt it. They all look weak…" said the black haired boy as he carefully made his way around the dirtiest areas. He made his way past a tied oddish, and a cluster off apparently wild venonat that had clumped together in an abandoned shelter. In a dirty, beat up wading pool swam a horsea. He jumped back as a grimer slopped forward. "This place is so messy it's attracting grimers!"

Damien was about to pass by two more houses when he paused. He stared at the Pokemon tied to a house. It was a dirty, ragged vulpix. He moved on and looked at the rest of the Pokemon. There was also a thin, sick looking eevee. He came back to where the others stood. "The only ones really worth any time training are the eevee, meowth, machop, and maybe the ekans and female nidoran. I guess I might as well take them and see if they show any signs of improving."

"Alright, but be careful that you don't take any useless ones, we don't have the time or money to spend on them if their only going to be good at needing care." Said the woman, she turned to Sarah, "Where are their Poke-balls? Or do you remember?"

Sarah frowned slightly, but then said, "They're in the house."

"In that dump? That doesn't tell us much, you know."

Sarah swallowed, "I- I'll go get them."

"Let's hope she can find them," said the woman as Sarah went into the house.

"Now Mrs.Durlan, you know she has a memory problem," said Jenny.

"Exactly. How much does she even remember?"

Sara came back holding a box of Poke-balls. "Now what one would you like?"

Damien brushed the hair out of his eyes, "Definitely that vulpix. And that meowth. I'll take the machop, and I guess the ekans and female nidoran too."

Sarah pulled several Poke-balls out of the box and handed them to Damien, "The vulpix's name is Storm. The meowth is Thrifter. The Machop is Keyi, pinsir is Clamp, and nidoran is Angela."

Damien took the Poke-balls and got his Pokemon.

"Alright Officer, is that it?" said Mrs.Durlan.

"Yes Mrs.Durlan, you and Damien may go now." 

Mrs.Durlan and Damien got in the car and left.

"What a personality," said Coren.

"The lady or the kid?" asked Darren.

"Both."

"Alright, I guess I should take these Pokemon over to the Poke-center now."

"Wait a moment," said Sarah, "Darren was it? If you want any more Pokemon, please take them. You two could have some as well."

"Oh I wish I could, but my parents are too busy," said Aleena.

"Yeah," said Coren, "I'm lucky that they're helping me take care of Survivor here."

"I wouldn't mind some more," said Darren, "but how come you'll be taking them to the Poke-center?"

"Well," said Jenny, "There is no where else to take them, and they do need care."

"There's no where else? But what about shelters or Pokemon preserves?"

"There aren't any around here. There is a wild Pokemon preserve a ways away, but these Pokemon don't have any recent experience in the wild, if any. They wouldn't stand much of a chance on their own."

"Well, there should be a shelter or sanctuary." Darren said, as walked back into the Pokemon area. When he came back out he said, "There's only five left. If I don't take them then they'll end up in the recovery room of the Poke-center?"

"Until some one wants to take one, yes."

"In that case, I'll take all four," said Darren, holding his head up decisively.

"Oh that's so good of you!" cried Sarah, "Thank you for taking care of them!

"The eevee is Cora, the oddish is Flora, the magikarp is Prophet, the ekans is Scale and the horsea is Sophia."

Darren took the Poke-balls and got his Pokemon.

"Darren I'd like to go home with you and talk to your parents alright?" asked Jenny.

"Okay," he turned to Coren and Aleena, "I guess I'll see you around. Good luck with Survivor."

"Thanks," said Coren.

Darren turned to Sarah, "Thank you for giving me your Pokemon."

She smiled wryly, "I didn't have much choice, but you're welcome.

"At least I know that you'll take good care of them."

Darren paused a moment, then said, "You can visit them if you like."

Sarah's face lit up, "Really? You mind that?"

"No, they were your Pokemon after all."

"Thank you, so very much."

"No problem."

Coren turned to Sarah, "Good by."

"Good by child."

"Good by." Said Aleena.

"Good by dear."

"Coren, can I carry Survivor home?" asked Aleena.

Coren looked at her, sighed, and said, "I suppose so."

"Thank you!" said Aleena, swooping Survivor up so quickly that he quacked in surprise.

"Hey, be careful with him."

"I _am_ being careful!"

"Then don't pick him up so quickly."

"Oh, you worry too much, Coren! He may be injured, but he's not fragile, picking him up fast isn't going to brake him."

"It's not very considerate towards him."

"Rrrr, Coren, I'm not trying to be mean to him, I didn't _mean_ to pick him up so fast, so stop criticizing me!" she glared at him.

"Okay, Okay, I'm sorry." Said Coren.

"It's okay, apology accepted!"

Coren stared sulkily down the road.

Aleena glanced at him, "Coren, I'm sorry about earlier, back when Sarah came out. I though you were right behind me. If I'd known you were still there, I wouldn't have left you. Or Survivor."

Coren shrugged, but looked less sulky, "It's all right. I chose to stay."

"Yes, but I should've stayed with you. What if she'd done something to you? A friend doesn't just run off when their friend is in trouble."

"But you didn't realize that I hadn't run. It's not your fault that you didn't stay."

"Thanks Coren. I want to be a _good_ friend. Not just some one who'll leave the moment there's trouble."

"You wouldn't do that! You _are_ a good friend." Coren suddenly looked somewhat embarrased.

"Thanks Coren, you're the best."

Coren couldn't help but grin a little.


	4. The Progression of Time

Chapter 4: _The Progression of Time_

*Author's note: My thanks to TopazSoarhire for reading and reviewing. I appreciate the praise. *

Survivor's healing progressed well, in July his cast was removed and he no longer needed bandages on his side. He was now completely healed and was practicing to fly again. The time to let him free was drawing near.

"Coren, you remember Emily, from, the Poke-center, don't you?" asked Mina, Coren's mom.

"Yeah, I do. Why? What's up?"  
"Well, she called this morning to tell us about the annual Poke-center Care Awards. She said that you and Survivor were nominated for some of the categories, so she hoped that you would like to attend. It's on July 30th."

"Wow, we've been nominated? Wait'll I tell Aleena!"  
"So I take it you want to go?"

"Are you kidding?! It sounds cool! I wonder what I've been nominated for. Is it all right if I use the phone to call Aleena?"

"Of course."

"Good." Coren raced towards the phone. He paused at the living room door.

"Hey Survivor! We've been nominated for some awards!"

Survivor quacked, and then went back to watching the T.V., which Ben had on. They were watching a show with a guy wearing camouflage. He was in the jungle and was talking about how to properly catch tough Pokemon.

"Are you watching Dunsparce Hunter _again_?" asked Coren.

"Come now Coren, it's a _classic,_" said Ben.

"More like a doofus," muttered Coren. He shook his head and headed back out into the hall.

"Hello?" said Aleena.

"Hey-Leena-guess-what!" Coren said so fast that it took Aleena a moment to register who it was and what they had said.

"What?"

"Survivor and I have been nominated for some of the categories at the Annual Poke-center Care Awards!"

"Wow! Really?"

"Really!"

"So what categories?"

"I don't know. Mom just told me about the fact that I'm nominated. She didn't say anything else. I'll have to ask her. But she might not know."

"So when is it?"

"When is what?"

"Coren, when are the awards?"

"Oh. Uh… July 30th. Do you think you'll be able to make it?"

"I sure hope so."

July 30th came. Coren, his parents, and Survivor had gone to the Poke-center. There were a lot of people there. Coren wasn't sure if had ever seen so many people before. Lily came over to them.

"I'm glad to see you here, Coren."

"Yeah, um, have you seen Aleena?" Coren was craning his neck, trying to see through the crowd.

"That blonde haired girl that's always with you lately?"

"Yeah, her."

"I think so. I think I saw her over by the waiting area. That's were everyone who's been nominated is supposed to be so she's probably over there waiting for you."

"Okay, thanks."

"Sure."

Coren wove his way through the crowd and found the waiting area. Aleena, Darren, Damien, and several other people Coren didn't know were already there.

"Aleena!" Coren called, as Survivor jumped out of his hands and flew to her.

"There you are," said Aleena, as she held out her arms, letting Survivor land in them.

"You're here?" said Damien.

"Yes, I've been nominated."

"Oh? What for?"

"Three actually, Best Trained, Best Recovered, and Closest Bonded."

"I'm in here for the best trained. I don't see what the point of the Closest Bonded is do you? I mean, they don't obey you any better do they?"

"Actually," said Darren, "from what I've heard and seen, they do seem to listen to you better. They're also more loyal."

"Huh. Like their loyalty would actually last in a dangerous situation. They're just Pokemon, their instinct is to survive, not risk their life for you."

Coren said, "Then how come so many of them _have_ risked their lives for humans?"

Damien snorted, "give me a brake, that sort of thing only happens in movies and stories."

A brown haired boy spoke up, "No it doesn't. My grandma had her life save by a Pokemon. At risk to it's own life too."

"It was probably so pampered that it didn't know what danger was."

The boy shook his head, "Uh uh, it was a wild Pokemon."

Damien didn't seem to know quite what to say to that, so instead he said, "who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Tyler Trixton. I don't actually have any Pokemon, but my grandparents let me help out at their ranch. I've been nominated for Best Grooming Care."

They waited a while longer, with a few people talking here and there, but no one really had anything much to talk about. Finally the loud speaker came on.

"WELCOME PEOPLE… ahem, sorry about the loudness, Welcome to the twentieth Annual Poke-center Care Awards. If you would all please gather around the stage…"

People gathered around the stage, and the nominees gathered near the entrance to the stage. The stage was a temporary set up. It had lights around it, shining on the stage (which, since it was evening, was becoming necessary in order to see). Emily was standing up on stage, next to a table with medals and envelopes on it. She was also the one who was holding the microphone.

"The first award that we're going to give out is the Best General Care of a Pokemon. Each year it's given to the person who has given good care on a regular basis to a Pokemon. Often this award goes to breeders, since they have so much to do to take care of their Pokemon, but they still get it done. This year however, it has been given to someone who is not yet a breeder, but has worked really hard to learn as much as they can about Pokemon, and to take the best possible care of their own Pokemon.

"The prize for the Best General Care of Pokemon is 500 gold pieces, and the B.G.C.P. Award medal.

"And this year's winner for the Best General Care of Pokemon is Lily Piers!" The crowd cheered and applauded.

A woman with long purple hair approached the stage. She was riding a ponyta, with a houndour and umbreon following. The ponyta, whom Coren knew to be Wind Racer, charged forward and leapt onto the stage. The houndour and umbreon also jumped up. Lily bent down, so that Emily could get the medal around her neck.

"Thank you. I don't know what to say. I'd hoped to win, since I needed the money, but I really didn't expect to," said Lily, pulling her hair out of her face. "I guess I'd like to thank everyone who's encouraged me along the way, including Wind Racer, Moon Mist, and Champion. That's basically it."

"Leena, that's the Lily who's helped me with Survivor."

"Really? I thought she looked familiar."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let's have another round of applause for Lily Piers!" The crowd applauded again. Coren applauded especially hard._ This must really mean a lot for her dreams. She ought to have enough money to go places now!_ Lily rode Wind Racer towards the edge of the stage. The crowd got out of the way as Wind Racer leapt off of the stage and raced away. Moon Mist leapt off of the stage and ran after them. Champion, who had been preoccupied sniffing something, suddenly looked up. He barked and raced to the edge of the stage. He jumped off and followed them.

"Alright folks, it's time for the next award, which is the award for the Best Groomed Pokemon! This award is often given to professional groomers, since they have so much practice, but this year it's been given to a person who likes to spend their free time taking care of Pokemon, including grooming them.

"The prize is a grooming kit and 500 gold pieces, in addition to the award medal.

"The award for the Best Groomed Pokemon goes to Tyler Trixton, for his grooming of his grandmother's mareep!" Tyler grinned as the crowd cheered. He pulled out a Poke-ball and sent out a mareep.

"Come along, Glowa." Tyler and Glowa, the mareep, walked onto the stage. Emily hung the medal around his neck.

"I'm really pleased. I thought it'd be cool to win, I was right, it is cool."

"Alright everyone, let's hear it for Tyler and Glowa!" The crowd applauded again. Glowa bleated and looked around uncertainly. Tyler took out her ball, put her back in it, and trotted off the stage towards an older woman.

"Next is the award for the Best Trained Pokemon! This award is given to the person who has trained their Pokemon well, and who's Pokemon obeys them.

"The prize for this year is a trainer's kit and 500 gold pieces, with, of course, the award medal.

"The winner for the Best Trained Pokemon goes to Damien Durlan and his machop, Kei!" The crowd applauded as Damien walked up onto the stage.

"Damien, would you be willing to show us this brilliant Pokemon?"

Damien pulled out a Poke-ball and opened it. A machop appeared, flailed its arms menacingly, then stood and stared at Damien. Emily hung the medal around Damien's neck. Damien put Kei back in his ball, and walked off the stage.

"The next award is the Most Recovered Pokemon. It is given to the human who has helped a Pokemon recover from a terrible condition.

"The prize is a first aid kit and 500 gold pieces.

"This year's winner goes to someone who not only helped the Pokemon back to health, but was the one who initially rescued the Pokemon when it was first in trouble. The Most Recovered Pokemon goes to Coren Silmon and the wild Farfetch'd that he has so dutifully taken care of!" The crowed applauded. Coren noticed that Aleena was clapping especially hard. Coren walked onto the stage, holding Survivor.

"Thank you," said Coren. He shook his head, "I- I'm not really sure what to say. Survivor has more than repaid my kindness to him. He's my best friend, my only other friend who can compare is Aleena." As Emily hung the medal around his neck, he looked proudly down at it and Survivor. He hugged Survivor than walked off the stage.

"Let's here one more round for Coren and Survivor!"

"The next, and last, award is the Closest Bond. In my opinion this is one of the best awards, because it celebrates the friendship that can form between Pokemon and human. But it never is easy, or even really fair to say how close one pair of friends is to another pair, especially since different beings express their affection in different ways. So with this award we try to go by what we can see when choosing who is the closest, but just because you don't win this award, it doesn't mean that you aren't close to your Pokemon. In fact this award is really for all of the friendships out there, with the winners being the pair who has been chosen to represent all friendships.

"The prize is a Poke-doll and 500 gold pieces to the winner, also 500 to the Royal Pokemon Preserve, where Pokemon can live without fear of capture.

"This year it was so hard to decide between the nominated pairs that we have a tie, so they will both get their own prize and instead of 500 gold pieces, it will be 1000 going to the preserve. The winners of this award are Darren Crowthrew and his growlithe Shin Rock, and Coren Silmon and Survivor!" The crowd cheered as both Coren and Darren walked onto the stage, carrying their Pokemon.

Emily hung the medal around Darren's neck, and then another medal around Coren.

"Do either of you have anything to say?" asked Emily. Darren and Coren looked at each other. Both shifted their Pokemon so that they could shake each-other's hands.

"Congratulations." Said both Darren and Coren. Darren smiled slightly and nodded in acknowledgement. Coren also nodded, then turned to look at his parents and Aleena. They were waving and cheering along with the crowd.

"Well, I'm not sure that the praise for them ever actually stopped, but let's hear it one more time for these four, and all friendships!" The crowd erupted into cheers, applauding, whistling, and noise. Coren and Darren left the stage.

When Coren reached Aleena she shouted over the noise, "Congratulations!" She flung her arms around both Coren and Survivor. Coren grinned.

* * *

Coren sighed. _It's almost time to let him go._ He watched as Survivor flew from one perch to another. _His flight's improving daily._

"Coren! How's he doing?" said Aleena, coming up the drive.

"Better and better," said Coren, trying to smile though it ended up as more of a grimace.

"Well that's good. But it does mean that the time to part is approaching."

Coren sighed again, and nodded, "exactly. It's great news, but it still means that I'm gonna have to say good by soon."

"Well let's forget about that for a little while. I know you need to think about it some, and prepare yourself, but that doesn't mean that you need to obsess about it."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Let's play with Survivor while we can." Aleena picked up a stick and threw it. Survivor looked at and then lunged forward, grabbing it in his beak. He tossed it in the air, caught it, and then flew over Aleena and Coren. He dropped the stick at just the right moment, so that it landed on Coren's head. Aleena laughed.

"Uh! That was hardly necessary…" Coren threw the stick strait up into the air.

Survivor caught it, and this time dropped it while flying over Aleena. She was ready for him, and grabbed the stick out of the air.

"Ready?" asked Aleena, bringing raising the stick over her head, "get it!"

Survivor dived; catching the stick shortly before it hit the ground. He tossed it in the air, but missed catching it. It hit the ground and before Survivor could get it, Coren dove at it. He grabbed the stick just as Survivor got there. Survivor tried to grab it, but Coren rolled over and leapt to his feet, the stick in his hands. He ran with Survivor hopping after him. Suddenly Survivor took flight and streaked past Coren, grabbing the stick on his way by, thus ripping it out of Coren's hands.

"Hey!" Coren stopped to catch his breath.

Aleena took up running under Survivor. He flew lower, so that he and Aleena's head were on the same level. Aleena grabbed the stick. She and Survivor both tugged on it, until Survivor lost his grip.

"Coren! Catch!" Aleena threw the stick towards Coren. He tried to catch it but missed, ending up with Survivor in his arms, instead of the stick. He burst out laughing. Survivor quacked. He squirmed and flapped his wings, causing Coren to lose his balance. They fell to the ground, Coren rolling to avoid landing on Survivor. Then he noticed the stick only a foot away. He crouched and looked at Survivor, who had spotted it two. They looked at each other for a moment and then both lunged for it. Just as they reached it Aleena picked it up.

"Yes!" cried Aleena.

"Hey!" exclaimed Coren as Survivor made a remarkably similar noise. But then neither off them could stop and both crashed into Aleena. All three tumbled to the ground in a mess of legs, arms, wings and feathers. Coren and Aleena collapsed into fits of laughter while Survivor danced around them, quacking.

They managed to untangle themselves and lay back in the grass, catching their breaths. Survivor settled himself between them. He gave a deep, contented sigh, and nestled himself in a ball. Coren echoed that sigh.

"Thanks Aleena. That helped a lot."

"You're welcome, but don't give me all the credit, Survivor himself help quite a bit."

"Yeah," said Coren, rolling onto his side to stroke Survivor. Aleena did the same. Survivor lifted his head up. Coren moved closer to him and rolled onto his back. Survivor sighed another contented sigh and rested his head on Coren's stomach.

"It's amazing how healing just being with, and playing with close friends can be," said Coren gazing up at the clouds drifting contentedly across the sky.

"I know. I'm really glad I met you two." Aleena watched as a cloud that looked like a farfetch'd merged with another to become a rattata.

"So am I." Coren closed his eyes and inhaled deeply of the fresh earth and grass.

A gentle summer wind stroked their hair and feathers, caressing them.

Coren sighed. _Things will work out, somehow._


	5. Good by

Chapter 5:_ Good bye_

Author's note: Since this chapter was originally part of the first chapter (in a one shot story), I don't know how the quality of it revised is. 

* Thank you for reading this story, and for any reviews you have written. *

Coren had, with the help of Lily, gotten in touch with "A Royal Pokemon Preserve". They had called as said that they where willing to help bring Survivor to the Preserve as soon as he was ready.

Coren was dreading the day that they would have to let Survivor go. _I don't want to have to say good-by to Survivor,_ he thought. _I've known all along that I would have to, but that still doesn't make it easy._

Coren was sitting on an old tree stump in Survivor's out-door cage, watching him peck at the grass beneath his food dish. Coren sighed, "I wish we weren't going to have to say good-by. But we'll be friends forever, right?" Survivor quacked in Coren's direction and then went back to looking for stray seeds.

"That's right and I've had an idea over night." Said a voice behind Coren. He jumped and looked around. His dad, Ben, was standing there.

"What is it Dad?" Coren asked.

"You know how Farfetch'd are always carrying those Sticks around?" said his dad.

"Yeah." said Coren.

"Well if Survivor had one, then he seems to have lost it, so how about if we make a special stick for him?" Ben asked.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Coren, "That it'd be great!"

"Alright then let's get right to it and find a good sized stick to carve for him." said Ben.

The day came when it was time to bring Survivor to the Poke-Center for a final check-up before bringing him to the Preserve.

Mina was busy packing, so Ben took Coren and Survivor to the Poke-Center. Ben drove them in the car and Coren held Survivor.

When they walked in the front door Emily, who was sitting behind the desk, looked up and smiled.

"So how's Survivor doing?" Emily asked them.

"Great!" said Coren, "But now we're just about ready to bring him to the Royal Pokemon Preserve. Mom said that someone from the Preserve called and said that he would meet us here today."

"Yes, that's right," said Emily, "They both called us and arranged things. Richard is the name of the person who's coming from the preserve. He's going to be traveling with you and your family to the preserve. Lily was training with Wind Racer this morning, but she said that she would be here to see Survivor off. In the meantime Nurse Joy can give Survivor his health check. She's waiting for you in the examination room."

Coren and Ben brought Survivor into the examination room. Nurse Joy had her head in a cupboard, repositioning bottles and jars.

"Um, Nurse Joy?" Coren asked. Nurse Joy straitened up and banged her head on the cupboard.

"Oww! Oh hello Coren." said Nurse Joy. Survivor quacked. "Yes hello to you to Survivor. And you are?" Nurse Joy asked Ben.

"I'm Ben, Coren's father." Ben answered.

"I'm pleased to meet you." said Nurse Joy, "Well let's get this examination over with, it won't take long."

Nurse Joy examined Survivor and then said, "I now pronounce this Pokemon completely healthy and fit! And I might add that it's quite the miraculous recovery that this guy made."

Nurse Joy, Coren, and Ben, who was carrying Survivor, made their way back to the main room. As they went through the door they heard barking. Champion hurled himself at Coren, knocked him down and started licking his face.

"Champion!" Lily and Coren exclaimed at the same time as Ben said, "What the! Coren!"

"It's all right Dad!" said Coren pushing Champion off of him. Lily had her hand over her eyes. She dropped her hand and shook her head.

"Sorry about that Coren, Champion does that the most to you and I can never seem to keep him calm when he sees you."

"That's all right, I don't mind," said Coren, "Dad this is Lily, Lily this is my dad."

Lily shook hands with Ben and said, "Sorry about my Houndour sir, he sometimes forgets that he's already been trained."

"I was a little concerned at first," Ben admitted, "But now that I know that he's friends with Coren I don't mind. And I expect that Coren actually enjoys that, he's quite into Pokemon and doesn't have much of a chance to do things with them."

Moon Mist came over and sniffed the air in Survivor's direction. Survivor was on Ben's shoulder.

"Moon Mist! You're out of your Poke-ball too!" exclaimed Coren.

"Yep," said Lily, "I would have let all of them out; but I figured that it would get a little crowded in here, with both Wind Racer and Champion and everybody else who's supposed to get here."

As Coren and Lily talked, a man was approaching the Poke-center. He had shoulder length, brown hair and brown eyes. A Pikachu was walking along with him, moving in time with the man's adventurous humming.

Champion stopped barking and stood stock still watching as the door opened. The man walked through the door (He was had stopped humming by now.), followed by the Pikachu. The man closed the door. Then before anyone had a chance to do or say something, Champion started barking and charged at the Pikachu.

The Pikachu exclaimed, "Pika!" and scrambled up the man's side. Champion jumped at it, hitting the man with his paws, causing the man to step side ways. The Pikachu leapt from the man's shoulders and ran towards Ben. Ben took a step backwards in surprise as the two Pokemon ran towards him. 

Survivor quacked and took flight. That distracted Champion from the Pikachu, who hid under a bench. Champion raced around the room, barking at Survivor who was flying around the room.

"Survivor!" exclaimed Coren. He jumped at Champion and grabbed onto him. Champion barely paused and continued running, now dragging Coren with him. Lily tried to grab onto Champion herself, but he avoided her.

Survivor changed his direction mid-flight. Champion turned a sharp corner in order to follow him, and Coren lost his grip.

Suddenly a frightening, wail filled the air. Champion threw his head up in surprise and spread his legs out to the side in order to stop quickly. Moon Mist was crouching in front of him, continuing to let out a wail, though it was not quite as loud. Champion whined and lied down. Moon Mist stopped wailing, sat down, and looked at Lily.

"Wow… Thanks Moon Mist. Champion I think that you'd better return to your Poke-ball for now," said Lily raising her hand with a Poke-ball in it. Champion took one last look at Survivor, and then disappeared back into his Poke-ball in a beam of light.

"Well," said the man, chuckling, "I see that Champion hasn't decided to put his mind to business and get serious yet."

"Definitely not" groaned Lily, "although he can be series when he _wants_ to be. Just the other day he attacked somebody trying to steal another trainer's Pokemon."

"Oh? Somebody was trying to steal Pokemon?" asked Richard.

"Yes. They wanted my Pokemon as well. The guy called himself a Team Rocket member, whatever that is. When he walked up to Champion, Champ started to go with him willingly. But then another guy had showed up and when he approached me Champ went wild. He attacked the guy, and then chased off the first guy as well. Because of Champion neither the trainer or I lost any Pokemon."

"Wow! Heh, I guess he got his chance to prove himself, even if he still chases Lighting. Come on Lighting, Champion's in his ball now," said the man. The Pikachu came out and ran over to the man. The man picked Lightning up and she climbed onto his shoulder. 

Coren picked up Survivor and stroked his head. Noticing his movement, the man turned to him.

"So this is Survivor, huh?" the man said. "Well it's nice to meet you." said the man, giving a sweeping bow, which nearly unseated Lightning, and offered his hand for Survivor to smell. "I am Richard Barrow, the owner of `A Royal Pokemon Preserve'. Are you Coren Silmon?" Richard asked, looking at Coren.

"Yeah." Coren nodded his head, "Is the Pikachu's name Lightning?" Coren asked.

"Yep, This is Lightning," said Richard, gesturing towards the Pikachu on his shoulder, "Lightning meet Coren." Lightning looked at Coren and said quietly, "Pika."

"Hello." Coren said to Lightning. Richard smiled at them and then looked at Lily, "So Lily what levels are those crazy Pokemon of yours at?"

"Well," said Lily, "Moon Mist is at level twenty-two, Champion level fifteen, and Wind Racer just got a level up this morning. He's now at level eighteen.

"And what about your Pokemon?" she asked Richard.

"Well let's see," said Richard, "I was a bit concerned about Kingly when Queenie passed away, but he seems to be doing alright. He's at level 79. Piney is doing fine, and at level 40, and so is Juicy. As you can see Lightning's still as fit as a fiddle. She's at level 89. I met a Tangela in the Preserve the other day, and much to my surprise it wanted to come with me. So I now have a Tangela, who's at level 22. She's doing quite well... Oh! And Zee's doing fine too, he's level 70."

"Wow!" said Coren, "You have a lot of high leveled Pokemon!"

"Well I've been training Pokemon for thirty-three years, so that would make sense! But actually I know quite a few Pokemon collectors, breeders and professional trainers who have a lot more Pokemon, though perhaps not such high leveled ones."

"Thirty-three years!" exclaimed Coren, "How old are you?"

"Coren!" exclaimed Ben.

Richard chuckled, "That's all right, I'm not shy about my age! I am forty-three years old. I've been running the wild Pokemon preserve for twenty-two years. I created the place in 1933. 

"Now Lily, why don't you introduce me to the rest of your friends now?" he suggested.

"Okay" said Lily. She turned to Ben and said, "This is Ben Silmon, Coren's father. Ben, this is the guy from the preserve who will be traveling with your family." Ben reached his out, and he and Richard shook hands.

"Richard," Lily continued "this is Emily. Emily, Richard Barrow." They also shook hands.

"This Chansey is Lucky, she belongs to Emily." Richard reached out his hand. Lucky shyly reached out her paw and they shook "hands".

"So you're lucky that you belong to Emily huh? She must be a really good trainer then," said Richard.

Lily groaned and said "You _know_ that's not what I meant!"

"So she's not a good trainer?" Richard asked innocently.

"No! I mean yes! She is a good trainer, but the _Chansey's_ name is Lucky!" Lily said exasperated.

"So the Chansey has a lucky name? What is it?" asked Richard.

Lily moaned and put her hand over her eyes. Richard burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry Lily but that opportunity was just too good to miss!" said Richard still chuckling.

"I don't know **How** your Pokemon can stand being with you all the time," said Lily, looking at Richard.

"Oh they just ignore me if I start to get too annoying. Besides they don't have to stand me All the time, some-times they're in their Poke-balls, and other times I let them lose in the yard." answered Richard.

Ben cleared his throat, "So are you ready to come see where Survivor has been staying?"

"Yes, I'd say so." answered Richard.

"Do you mind if I come along?" asked Lily.

"Of course you can come!" said Coren; "You've been coming over almost every day to check on Survivor."

"I know, but that doesn't mean that your family wants me to come over right now; when you already have another visitor. Especially since what's happened the last few times," said Lily.

"I don't mind you coming to visit, but I would appreciate it if you kept Champion in his Poke-ball." Ben told her.

"Right!" said Lily, "I can certainly understand that."

"What? Did harmless little Champion find some more mischief to get into?" asked Richard, grinning.

"Oh Yes." said Lily, "The last time that I was there, two days ago, he dug about twelve holes in their yard. Some of which were in the garden."

Ben led the way to the Silmon house, Coren following behind him with Survivor on his shoulder. Richard walked beside Coren, talking with him about Survivor. Once outside, Lily brought Wind Racer out of his poke-ball. Lily walked beside him, with her hand on his shoulder, while Moon Mist and Lightning rode on his back.

When they reached the Silmon house; Ben, Lily, Moon Mist, and Richard went inside, to talk with Mina and each other. Coren, Survivor, and Lightning played in the yard. Wind Racer joined in playing with them once in a while, but otherwise he grazed on the Silmon's lawn. Ben had been nervous about having a Pokemon that could easily catch his yard and house on fire left unattended, but Lily managed to convince him that Wind Racer wasn't as wild and uncontrolled as he seemed. "Besides he won't be completely alone, with Coren and the other two Pokemon right there" Lily pointed out.

At five Richard left, heading over to the Poke-Center where he would be staying the night. Lily said good-by to the Silmons and Survivor and wished them luck, then she and her Pokemon left.

The nest morning the Silmons, Survivor and Richard left town at seven' o' clock. They drove to the nearest airport and boarded a plane. Richard got them special permission to keep Survivor out of a poke-ball. (Normally the airport didn't like to have Pokemon lose on board, for fear of them either disturbing the other passengers or wreaking the plane.)

The plane landed at an airport near Celadon city. Richard then drove them, in his car, to "A Royal Pokemon Preserve". It was now ten-thirty.

Richard led them, on foot, about half a mile into the preserve, to a small wooded hill. 

"Alright Coren, it's time to set Survivor free," said Richard. Coren felt tears welling up in his eyes. He fought to keep them back. Ben stepped over to where Coren had put Survivor's cage down. (They had borrowed a cage from the Poke-Center. It was smaller than the ones that Ben had made and they were using it to carry Survivor in.)

"Good-by Survivor, good-luck with your new life." Ben told Survivor. He stepped back and let Mina kneel down beside Survivor's cage.

"Good luck little guy. I hope you have a long happy life." Mina said to Survivor. Then she too stepped back. Coren slowly knelt down and opened Survivor's cage.

"Good luck." he told Survivor in a choked voice. Survivor rubbed his head on Coren's chest. Coren hugged him and then unwrapped a package.

"This is for you," he said handing a smooth, two-foot long stick to Survivor. It had the word **Survivor** carved into its side. Survivor quacked and took the stick in his mouth. Coren smiled.

"Good-luck. I love you. I hope you do well in your new home," said Coren. He stroked Survivor's head and whispered, "Good-by." Coren stood up and stepped back. 

Survivor tossed his stick in the air, quacked, and caught it. He launched himself into the air. Survivor then circled over head and flew out of sight.

Coren stared at the spot, just above the trees, where Survivor had been before he had flown out of sight. He then turned and started walking back down the path towards the parking lot. His head hung and his shoulders were slumped. Richard picked up the cage and he, and Coren's parents followed him down the path.

They went around a bend in the path, and the parking lot came into view. Coren sighed and started towards the parking lot.

"Oww!" Coren exclaimed as something hit him on the head. He looked at the ground where it had fallen. It was a stick. He picked up the stick and looked up at the sky.

"Survivor!" shouted Coren. Survivor was flying in a circle above him, carrying the stick that Coren had given him in his mouth. Survivor tossed his stick in the air, did a back flip, and caught it with his feet. He honked twice and flew in another circle. Coren grinned and waved the stick, which was still in his hand. Survivor dived and flew in a figure eight. He flew in a tight circle and, giving a last quack, flew off in the direction of the preserve.

Coren smiled sadly and went with his family to Richard's car. _I wonder if I'll ever see him again. But even if I don't, I'll always remember him._

****

The End

For now…

Author's Note: _I hope you enjoyed reading this story. It's possible that I could have put more effort into it, but there were times were I was anxious to be done with it. Originally Survivor's Saga was just a prolog to a longer story starring Coren. I already have several chapter of the next saga written, but I still need to revise them. Hopefully I can get the time to work on them soon, and get the next saga posted. In case anyone is interested my current title for the next saga is:_

Hidden Valley of the Pokemon


End file.
